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"The Inside Out Forehand"
We have seen it for years and it's not going away, and for "many" good reasons. Borg and Lendl used it in the 80's, and then everyone coming out of Bollettieri's (Arias, Krickstein, Courier, Agassi, etc) "had" to do it or else. but let's not forget the Spaniards: Bruguera, Corretja, Moya, etc., they also had to do it or else. they were not from Spain.
Basically, it's the most popular play taught by every coach in the world. I wish I would've used it, it seem like a cheap tactic to protect a weak backhand, which it was, but that doesn't diminish its value. Now it's obvious: use it or your opponent will use it against you. And in general it's better to control the point, to move and pressure your opponent's backhand, rather than wait for him to do it first. What you need to understand it's that you make your "base" a couple of steps to the left (your backhand side) of the center. From there you control the rallies with your forehand and many options open up. So, let's examine the different plays that come from that position.
- The "bomb": the classic inside out flat out or with a little topspin on it. A typical stinger that many times ends in a winner.
- The "high one": medium moon-ball (3 to 6+ ft. high) with lots of topspin (if possible) that bounces up high to your opponents backhand (this is for righties, for lefties reverse the play). This forces them to hit "the most difficult shot in the game", the high backhand.
- The "mini" inside out": a real finesse shot, done with soft hands looking to really get your opponent out of the court. Great tactic on clay. Opens up the court to hit a winner with any shot.
- The inside out drop shot: another touch shot. Excellent to use after a high one or a "bomb". The ball should spin away to the right, so it's best done with a continental, but some can also do it with an eastern grip.
- The "down the line": a must option to move your opponent from side to side. But risky and many errors are easily produced for not using enough spin, don't forget you are hitting through the highest part of the net and the shortest part of the court.
- The down the line drop shot: once you attacked with an inside out forehand of any kind you can hit a drop shot down the line making your opponent run the longest distance in a court.
I guess there is no question that we should "all" use all these different possibilities that get created by moving one or two steps and hit inside outs as much as possible. But, what if you have to play against someone who does this to you..well, the best solution is to get them out of that corner, pull them out wide to their forehand corner, usually with a good down the line, and then attack their weak backhands. |
